Tumgik
#*shit and despair can still lead to 30s of relaxed happiness
daddy-ul · 3 years
Text
My main dude @cxrgans tagged me, thank you for distracting me from studying. Nothing beats using the library for tumblr purposes.
post 10 pictures from your camera roll that describe you without downloading anything new!
Only ten? How dare you, I contain moltitu—
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
Tumblr media Tumblr media
It was so good to have an excuse to waste time scrolling through the pics on my phone, if you also want this excuse, please enjoy
@newsteds @breadfan @doomcalls @metallikaya @62kh @lovely-menza @the-mighty-het-speaks @the-world-passes-by @saintdilemma and everyone else looking for a distraction!
17 notes · View notes
elliepassmore · 5 years
Text
Empire of Storms Review
5/5 stars Recommended for people who like: series, ToG, fantasy, magic, high stakes, battles, multiple POVs, strong female leads, scheming Oh wow, I have such a love-hate relationship with this book. On one hand, I love how it’s written, how the characters and overall situation evolves, and, for most of the book, what happens. But on the other hand, I hate what happens. If we can read this and pretend it ends 30 pages before it does, that’d be fantastic, thank you very much. For those that have not read this far in the series, Chaol isn’t in this one; ToD tells what’s happening with him while this book is going on. Also, I realized as I was writing the review that I talk a lotmore about Manon and Elide than any of the other characters, so be prepared. Aelin has a lot of character development in this one, growing from someone who is a queen to someone who is queenly. In QoS, it was obvious she cared about Terrasen and her Court, that she was a queen and had accepted it, but within the first couple of chapters with her in this one, there’s a slow change. She begins acting with more calculation, more cunning, and more of a willingness to sacrifice—both herself and others—to get done what needs to be done. She felt like a queen in this one. But more than that, I felt she became a more mature character in this one. As much as I love HoF and QoS!Aelin, she was still acting like that young, wicked 19-year-old assassin. Throughout this book, she slowly develops a sense of stillness and a greater understanding of how the world, and people as a whole, tend to work. I really, really like her character progression and magical rise throughout EoS. There were definitely some sketchy parts—like when she was willing to bring the Valg into a city and leave its occupants to their doom, or when she and Rowan were talking about potentially conquering more countries in the future—but as a whole, I felt Maas did a really good job of showing how the Crown, Terrasen, and Terrasen’s people impacted Aelin and her decisions. Not to mention, Aelin became a fiery powerhouse in this one, and that’s always a fun journey to see, regardless of who’s undergoing it. And, I know some people have complaints about this next bit but, I love love love all of Aelin’s scheming and secrecy. It’s cunning, it’s wicked, it’s a Power Move, and it’s one of my favorite things throughout this book, even if it does get her into trouble and isn’t always the best move on her part. Dorian…poor Dorian. He really can’t get a break right now, can he? First there’s a Valg prince in him, then he kills his dad and shatters half his castle, then all his friends leave to go do Very Official Things, and then his city is sacked and burned. What a great summer. Dorian’s definitely close to some of that darkness we saw in Aelin/Celaena in HoF, but he’s already got a country to run and can’t afford to delve into the depths of his despair the way Aelin/Celaena was allowed to. It creates this interesting combination of a king who almost resents being king, but also recognizes there are no other good options at the moment and someone’s got to do it. The plus side of this is that we get to see a darker, more devil-may-care version of Dorian…ya know, the one who flirts with a witch. On top of dealing with all of this, Dorian also has his own magical journey and we get to see him gain more control over his powers and use them to his advantage in dangerous situations instead of having them adding to the dangerous situation. Despite these things, Dorian definitely feels like a side character in this one instead of a main character, and I think even Dorian points out something to this effect during one of his narrations:“For a heartbeat, Dorian felt like a useless fool as they all, including him, looked to Aelin.” (367). I suppose it’s not exactlyan admission of side-characterness, but it’s pretty damn close…and accurate. With all the growing and changing Dorian experiences in this book, I really wish we 1) got to see more of it from his POV, and 2) had more attention on him in general, he is, after all, one of the Original 3 (Dorian, Chaol, Celaena/Aelin). Manon continued her developmental arc from the last two books into this one, which was nice to see. With everything she’s learned and seen, especially during the course of QoS, she’s wary of what’s going on in Morath, and she’s wary of her grandmother. Manon has some interesting decisions to make regarding who—and I suppose what if you want to get into what she believes—she’s loyal to. We’ve seen inklings of her budding rebelliousness in previous books, but it really comes out in this one, and she draws a stark line in the sand, a huge development for the witch who once valued “obedience, discipline, brutality” above all else…though, I suppose rebellions can be disciplined and brutal, just not obedient ;P Of course, Manon also shows more of her caring nature in this book. In HoF, we saw her risk her position to have Abraxos and to keep him safe. In QoS, we saw her take Elide under her wing to the point of breaching Morath’s dungeons. Now, we see all that come to a head, with her releasing Elide into Oakwald and telling her to find Aelin, and then later being extremely protective over Abraxos, and, of course, that dawn when Asterin—and by extension, the rest of the Thirteen’s—life is on the line and Manon decides to draw an even bigger line in the sand. Manon has always cared, but I wonder if she always would have acted upon it like she does in this book. Or to the extent she does in this book. One of my complaints with how Manon is handled in this story are that she goes with the flow more than I feel she normally would, and I don’t know if it’s because she’s outnumbered or injured or what, but I felt she should’ve fought back a little more before relaxing her stance. And then the other one, which I know not everyone will agree with, is that she and Elide have more chemistry than she and Dorian. From the way I’ve read the story, it makes more sense for her and Elide to enter into something romantic than for her and Dorian to. I’m pretty happy with how Elide’s path goes in this story. From QoS, we know she’s cunning, clever, and observant, but with her having a larger narrative role, we get to see just how much she is those things. I mean, if you want a measurement for it, she lies to Lorcan, one of Maeve’s famous Fae warriors, and does it so well he doesn’t sense it. More than that, she also manages to buff her way past some of Morath’s worst creatures, which she does by delving into her memory and mimicking the behavior and attitudes she’s seen from the Thirteen in order to fool the creature. There are other instances too, when she changes herself and lies to get stuff done, and she does it with such ease, it’s impressive. Her observation skills continue peaking as well, with her sensing danger before it’s upon her multiple times. Perhaps part of the reason I love Elide so much in this one is that we really get to see the extent of her mental abilities, and that so often, especially in fantasy, when girls and women are badass and strong characters and beat the bad guys, they do it physically, we so rarely get to see them do it mentally like Elide does. Not to say, of course, that Elide doesn’t also get into scuffles, because she does, and she’s pretty good at those too. She kills some of Morath’s creatures with a broken nose while on her period, and that’s a bit of violent fantasy I can get behind. But most of the time, Elide uses her head to get herself in and out of situations. Perhaps not unexpected, but loyalty stays a huge part of her character as well. She’s loyal to Aelin, loyal to the promise she made to Kaltain, loyal to Manon and the Thirteen, and, when it comes down to it, she’s even loyal to Lorcan, which brings me to my next point. I like Manon and Elide as a romantic pairing, but I can also see where people are coming from with Lorcan and Elide, however, the latter pairing is not nearly developed enough in this book to warrant their kissing. Elide was furious with him like, two chapters before they kiss *with passion* and it feels rushed. If Maas was planning on having Eide and Lorcan be together (well…they are, but whatever), I think there should’ve been more of a buildup. They have mutual respect, they have aesthetic attraction, but they still need that deeper connection. Rowan feels younger in this one, though I thought he felt younger in QoS too. He’s freer and more playful in this one than he has been in the other ones, and I felt he was more tied to Aelin in this one too. That doesn’t stop him from getting shit done, though, even if it takes him, say, back to Adarlan for a spell. He’s definitely fiercely protective over Aelin, willing to throw down anyone who insults her past with Nehemia or Sam, or just letting her fight her own battles and scheme her own schemes. In terms of scheming, Rowan and Aelin definitely rub off on each other. For all the credit given to Aelin for her brilliant, complex schemes, Rowan does his fair share of scheming in this book too. He tricks their alliance target into meeting with them when he doesn’t want to, tricks Gavriel and Fenrys’ blood oaths to not attack Lorcan on sight, and schemes a way to get more allies for them. Despite this, despite how old and powerful he is, he definitely has some...self-esteem issues in this one, believing he has nothing to offer Aelin once she takes the throne, as if being one of the most powerful Fae males in the world is nothing. He brought it up every couple of chapters, mentioning he only had his heart to give…and then ignoring when it was exactly that that got the tide of a battle to turn (I love his cousins, by the way, very dramatic). Lorcan got narration in this one, which was interesting. He is not as much of a dick as he’s been made out to be, I’ll tell you that right now. Yes, he’s vicious and cunning, but he’s not horrible. He undergoes a lot of character development in this book, and I wonder if that contributed to it. I thought it was really funny how he went from “I’m going to torture and kill this girl (Elide)” to “well maybe I’ll just get her to tell me the information by tricking her” to “she is now mine to protect.” I suppose, though, that Elide has that affect on people. But even without that transition, Lorcan gets to see Aelin and her Court in action in this book, and he begins to realize that things with Maeve are…not the way they should be. Unfortunately, small realizations and a couple weeks (months?) worth of traveling with someone and being away from the blood oath are not enough to stop hundreds of years’ worth of training and instinct. Not entirely, at least. I feel like Aedion is in this one less than he’s been in the others, I’m not quite sure why, since he’s with Aelin and Lysandra for the entire book, and with Rowan and Dorian for most of it. He is a bit of a dick in this one, for reasons I can understand. For one, he lost his cousin once and all of her scheming just about stops his heart in his chest, not to mention the fact he’s literally fought battles and knows more about them in theory and in practice than Aelin does, despite her intelligence. While I love Aelin and her schemes in this one, I agree with Aedion that she should maybemaybe consult with the people around her before and while she’s making decisions. Him snapping at her about their lack of allies was a dick move, though. So Aelin hadn’t had time to get allies…I didn’t really see Aedion getting them either. Despite any disagreements he has with people, when it comes down to it, he’s still willing to fight beside them and protect them. Poor Lysandra, she has such a shitty situation. She’s mastered her shifting more, and everyone’s been giving her lessons in different things necessary for survival and fighting, but she still gets the short end of the stick. For starters, she has to leave Evangeline in Terrasen while they go traipsing around for allies and Wyrdkeys. It makes sense to leave her where she’s safe, but Lysandra has been the one protecting her for the past couple of years, and the two have grown close, so it’s definitely a hard decision that Lysandra makes. Later, she gets to battle five water-wyverns as a sea dragon, which nearly kills her and nearly gets her stuck in sea dragon form. (view spoiler). I think the situation is especially interesting because Lysandra is not fighting for her own country. She is not a King, Queen, or prince fighting for Adarlan or Terrasen. She is not a Witch fighting for the Wastes. Lysandra is fighting because she believes in Aelin and Dorian, and because she knows that if Erawen wins, things will get a lot worse for a lot of people. It’s the ‘right thing to do’ to fight in this war, but the right thing isn’t always the thing that keeps you and your loved ones alive, as everyone in this book knows, and it’s often easier said than done to go “I’d do the right thing,” yet Lysandra still chose to stay and fight for her friends, for the world, even if it means wearing a different face for the rest of her life, or dying, or never seeing Evangeline again. This book was side-character salad. Remember Assassin’s Blade? A lot of those characters make a comeback. We get to see Rolfe, Ansel, and the Silent Assassin’s back at it again, to varying degrees of willingness. Ansel coming back was, I feel, heavily and obviously foreshadowed in QoS, I definitely called it before I read the book the first time. Despite what she’d done, I really like her character in this one and was…not touched, exactly, but felt something like that when Ansel revealed she’d tried to go to Endovier to get Aelin/Celaena out. Rolfe was just as colorful and fun as in Blade, but less of an asshole, potentially because he wasn’t trading in slaves anymore. Maas included a plot twist with him that was entertaining, and I wish had more attention brought to it in KoA. The Silent Assassins come back toward the very end of the book, so we don’t get to see a lot of their interactions with everyone, but it was a pleasant surprise to see that virtually all of them turned up to aid Aelin and co. in defeating Erawen and winning their countries back. We also get to see more of the cadre, with Gavriel and Fenrys chilling with our heroes for a bit. Gavriel, perhaps unsurprisingly, causes some tension with everyone, most notably Aedion, who is more than a little rough on him. I get the instinct, and with Gavriel still being blood sworn to Maeve, I probably wouldn’t’ve let Gavriel anywhere near me, but I also don’t know if anyone had much of a choice. Fenrys was the wild card one of the two, and definitely managed to piss people off more than Gavriel did, but he was funnier, so that’s a plus. I felt…odd about Fenrys. It’s obvious he’s only sworn to Maeve for his twin and would rather be free or with Aelin and co, but he ogles Aelin, which feels slimy to me and I’m not a huge fan of, no matter how funny he is. Galan Ashryver also shows up toward the end of the book to aid the group in their journey, but like the Silent Assassins, since he showed up at the end, we don’t get a lot from him. Unfortunately, with that mix of awesome, we also have to suffer Maeve and Erawen turning up in this book too. I can’t really say a lot about Maeve without giving a bunch of stuff away, but Maeve is a bitch and I hate her more than Erawen, who briefly shows up to wreak havoc and spy. We don’t see a lot of the Thirteen, but they play such a big role in Manon’s decisions and arc, that I thought they should be included here as well. They’re so loyal to Manon, despite the threat of it, but they’re also not blinded by loyalty. Asterin, especially, is one of my favorite characters. She’s wild and free and fierce, and she isn’t afraid to get in Manon’s face and tell her like it is, but she’s also not afraid to die in Manon’s place. Sorrel is calmer about her anger, falling true to Manon’s idea that Manon is ice, Asterin is fire, and Sorrel is stone. Sorrel’s anger and questioning falls more into the line of “I’m not mad, just disappointed,” which anyone with a parent knows is so much worse. Abraxos is worth mentioning as a member of the Thirteen as well, since he also plays such a vital role in Manon’s development. He was the one to first break that icy exterior around her, and he’s the one she’s with for a majority of the book. Abraxos takes care of Manon and makes sure she’s safe, and when he can’t, for a couple reasons, he does the next best thing and finds someone who can do those things. Ah, the plot. The plot foreshadows aspects of itself, I’ll say that right now, but outside of that, there’s a shit ton of foreshadowing in this book, and this book also answers a lot of previous books’ foreshadowing. Erawen’s on the rise, creatures are coming out of Morath, and now nobody’s on the throne. The group is running out of time to get everything they need, and there’s so many twists and turns and foreshadowing going on that just about everyone ends up relying on one another at some point. Stuff from previous books connect into this one with more than just characters, and um, it’s a little fucking devastating. I love it and all the threads it connects, though, bringing everything around again and relating the history of Erilea to it, literally explaining why things are happening now, and sort of why they’re happening the way they’re happening. Some of the characters start to pick up on it, to realize that things bigger than coincidence and ghosts are guiding them down this path. Of course, there’s the issue with representation in this series. The characters, except for some of the Thirteen and Ilias, are all white. They are pretty much also all straight. Aedion is hinted at being bisexual, one of Rowan’s cousins is gay, and two members of the Thirteen are lovers. That’s four people, three of whom we barely/don’t see, and the fourth whose sexuality is only really hinted at. I love these books (and ACoTaR), but they are seriously lacking in diversity.
BONUS
The Visit
4.5/5 stars
One of the copies of EoS I have has a short scene at the back detailing a visit to Mistward while Rowan and Aelin were training there.
 I’m going to say from the start that I think Rowan and Aelin are shown being closer in this scene than we see for the entirety of HoF. They’re friends, we know they care about each other, they’re carranam (though they haven’t realized it at this point yet), but in HoF they didn’t act in the light, playful way they do now, and this scene feels more like QoS/EoS!Rowaelin than HoF!Rowaelin, hence the dropped half star.
I liked what happened in the story, though. Aelin’s temper is, naturally, on a short leash and it erupts toward Lady Remelle from Doranelle who acts a little too territorial over Rowan. Maas does a good job making sure we don’t like the Lady, so it was just desserts to see Aelin snap fire at her and earn her nickname ‘fire breathing bitch queen.’ Benson was just creepy and rapey feeling, and barely had any lines of dialogue. Essar was the only Fae from Doranelle I liked, again by design, and she was also the only one to realize who Elentyia/Celaena/Aelin really was.
 So, cute little short that gave us the background behind Aelin’s bitch-queen nickname, but also a short that’s a little OOC for the book it’s supposed to be set in.
Entering Terrasen
5/5 stars
The other copy of EoS I have has a scene at the back where Aelin, Rowan, Lysandra, Evangeline, and Aedion have just entered Terrasen and are in a small village where they meet a water user.
 I’m not really sure why this scene wasn’t just in the book, since it takes place during the timeline of the book and it would’ve only added a couple pages (which it did anyway, just at the end). I think it would’ve been nice to have it included because it shows the rebuilding of Terrasen, not just physically, but also mentally. It involves magic and laughing kids, that’s something that should be addressed within the book because of what it represents against the backdrop of a land recovering from being conquered.
 The scene was super cute, with the magic user being a little 9-year-old. She has, for the first time, access to her magic and is using it to play with the other kids to no one’s objection, showing that despite Adarlan’s tight-fisted stance on magic and magic users, the people of Terrasen are not about to throw stones at those gifted with it. It also shows that, despite the wariness the girl has for the Adarlanian accent, she’s still willing to talk with Aelin and have their magics play together.
 Overall, cute scene, should’ve just been in the book instead of a bit of extra content.
4 notes · View notes
ironykins · 7 years
Text
Here’s a big question/answer chain letter that I’m about to answer. I’ll put a read more to minimize the amount of space this takes up.
I was tagged by @tiffronic-supersonic​
1. What’s your biggest pet peeve? 
Not a lot of things really deeply bother me. But I feel helpless soul crushing despair and annoyance whenever capitalism/corporate attitudes lead to certain behaviors. 
Mostly in the world of software and business. There’s so much wasted potential and inefficiency because we need to maintain intellectual property and turn a profit. 
The same sort of thing happens in the pharmaceutical sector. You see huge premiums paid for products that, for the good of our species, should be accessible to anyone, not privatized to line someone’s pockets.
That just really fucking bothers me.
2. What one fear would you like to conquer?
Probably going outside or talking to strangers or something mundane like that.
3. What’s your favourite song lyric and why? 
This changes on a near monthly basis but these AJJ lyrics are currently my favourite: 
The skate park is only fifteen minutemen songs away
And there’s nothing I would rather do on this terrible fucking day
Than break, break, break my bones, and feel the pain of self improvement
It’s just got this grim determination without any sugar coating. I love it.
4. If you could shop at one store for free, which would it be? 
Computer stores. Preferably ones with lots of cool toys.
5. Which language would you like to speak fluently?
Japanese probably, because I’m a huge weeb and I consume a lot of media that comes from there. I’d be able to play untranslated games without missing out on anything.
6. What secret super power would you like to have, and why?
Infinite willpower.
7. Would you like to be famous and what would you like to be known for? 
It’d be really cool to be a well known open source developer. Someone famous for giving up the ability to turn a profit in favour of making the world a better place. Like the vision that Tim Berners-Lee had for a freely accessible internet, or what Tesla wanted for electricity.
8. What was the worst haircut you ever had?
About a year ago I told my hairdresser I’d be good with anything and she gave me a hitler youth style undercut. I didn’t mind it but it was not a good idea at all.
9. What are the most important qualities in friends?
All you need are people who respect you and want you to be content. Everything else follows from that. 
10. What’s the most significant lesson you’ve learned in life so far?
Go out there and fucking lose. Try a lot and fail a lot. Don’t be ashamed of it.
11. What makes you laugh the hardest?
My friend Crazy.
12. What’s your proudest accomplishment? 
I’m not overly proud of anything I’ve done. I guess getting through school and finding a job. I haven’t let anyone down on that front so far.
I’m just happy I’m still alive and functional.
13. If you could have any view out the window of your room, which would it be? 
I’d have a 360 degree view from the turret of an old style home, preferably somewhere coastal and constantly rainy.
14. If you could eat dinner with one celebrity, who would it be, and why?
Pick a famous computer scientist. The angrier the better. See if I can get them mad about something and watch them spew spit and jargon.
15. If you could do something dangerous just once with no risk, what would you do? 
Try to lie, cheat, hack, or socially engineer my way into somewhere important. A corporate HQ or some government building or something.
16. What’s your all-time favourite music video? 
This One
17. Which three words would you use to describe yourself?
Jaded, Slow, Misplaced.
18. What’s the first thing you’d do if you suddenly changed into the opposite sex?
Probably touch myself a lot. Satisfy my curiosity.
19. What’s your favourite website, and why?
The internet sucks. I like the concept of things like github and thingiverse though. They’re proof that we can find a compromise between idealistic freedom of information and capitalistic demands for monetization.
20. If you got a tattoo, what would you get and where would you out it?
I’d want to get it in secret and not tell anyone I got it. So I won’t say.
21. When you’re down, what do you do to feel better? 
Reading books is the #1 way for me to calm down and relax. It gives me something to focus on.
22. If you could go on tour with a band for a month, who would it be, and why? 
Trivium would be cool because of the legendary bromance between the 3 lead dudes. I’d love to get in on that. The Kills would also be cool because it’d be like traveling with two burnout rocker parents with lots of stories to tell.
23. What’s you favourite dessert? 
I’m not sure I have one. Maybe lemon cake? Frankfurter Kranz? Ginger snap cookies?
24. What one thing would you want to do most if you had all the money in the world?
Build a utopia from square one. Do away with the notion that everyone has to work. Build more efficient computerized transportation networks. Research sustainable ways to feed a large population.
25. Who’s the least obvious person you’d like to kiss? 
I don’t know what this means. I don’t want to kiss anyone.
26. Would you join in at a topless beach? 
No. I’m not big on beaches or being topless.
27. Where would you most like to travel? 
I wish I wanted to travel but I have a really hard time giving a shit about it. Probably Japan. They’ve got some legendary arcades.
28. What would you eat for your ultimate birthday dinner? 
The local burger joint. That’s where I’m going for my birthday today hopefully.
29. What was your most embarrassing moment? 
I’ve probably shoved it into the memory vault and I don’t care to dredge it out.
30. What historical sporting event would you like to witness? 
EVO Moment #37
31. Which song evokes the strongest memories for you? 
Mr. Jones by Counting Crows maybe. Or anything by The Front Bottoms. I didn’t listen to them when I was younger but they’re really nostalgic somehow.
32. What’s the best birthday celebration you can imagine?
Right now, going to the local burger joint.
33. What’s your favourite ethnic food? 
Vietnamese style rice vermicelli dishes are great.
34. Do you have any habits you’d like to give up? 
Yeah. I have a really shit sleep schedule and that’d be cool to fix.
35. What would you save first if your house caught on fire? 
My fileserver. It’s got everything I’ve ever worked on, written, all my pictures, etc. My files are more important than any of my physical possessions because there are more irreplaceable things among them.
I also cope with getting rid of physical things by taking and storing a lot of pictures of them.
36. Who would you trade places with for one month? Maybe Michael Phelps? 
Nobody. That would be cruel. Someone would have to pick up my life without knowing what I know. They wouldn’t be able to have meaningful interactions with my friends or family. They wouldn’t be able to do my job. It’d be lonely and they’d be destroying my life as I do the same to theirs.
37. What’s the story behind your first name? 
It’s the long-form version of my grandfather’s name. Kurt is apparently short for Konrad.
38. What’s been the biggest obstacle in your life so far? 
Apathy
39. Have you ever stolen something? What was it? Why did you steal it? 
I stole a chunk of wood from my elementary school playground as it was being demolished. I got yelled at because I ran onto the pile of rubble as they were digging into it with a backhoe. I don’t think that really counts as stealing though.
40. To you, what’s the secret to happiness?
Fuck buddy if I knew I’d tell you.
3 notes · View notes